Bernard Collins age 80, interview with Tales of Cape Cod, September 19, 1977.

Born in 1896, Mr. Collins describes his childhood experiences living next to a Life-Saving Service Station on Nauset Beach in the early 1900’s.   He also describes his harrowing experiences helping his father save lives when the Italian Bark Castagna went ashore in Wellfleet in a freezing cold in February, 1914.   He describes the life of the men who were members of the U.S Life-Saving Service, walking the beaches looking for ships in distress, the equipment they would use to save lives of sailors on the ships which would crash on the outer Cape shores.  He describes the use of the Breeches Buoy and the seven-man surf boats.    

Interview by Frank Rudd.

The Tales of Cape Cod Oral History Collection is located at the William Brewster Nickerson Archives in the Wilkens Library at Cape Cod Community College in West Barnstable, Massachusetts.

For more information about the Collection, please contact the Nickerson Archives at http://www.nickersonarchives.org/.

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